As the NBA trade deadline has gotten closer and closer it has gotten more and more apparent that the Los Angeles Lakers were not going to be able to trade Russell Westbrook. Early on in the process, there was some hope for a salary dump trade of some kind. However, when a John Wall trade became the only option, it became clear the Lakers were better off taking their medicine and holding onto Russell Westbrook.
The Lakers have put a hold on trying to trade Westbrook during the season but that does not mean that the team won’t revisit the idea in the future. All of the same problems that the team has this year will follow them into next season with Westbrook getting a raise.
However, while Westbrook is getting a $3 million raise, he becomes much easier to trade in the offseason. At that point, Westbrook will be an expiring contract and as we see every offseason, there will be a handful of desperate teams that want to make a splash.
The Los Angeles Lakers should be keeping an eye on certain teams for an offseason Russell Westbrook trade.
The Lakers are not going to get another “star” in return but they could get several assets that are either easier to move individually or simply help the team’s depth (just like it did for the Washington Wizards).
A lot needs to happen for each of these proposed teams to want to trade for Westbrook but there certainly is a roadmap for it to happen. Let’s dive into the two teams who might be desperate enough by the time the offseason rolls around to trade for Russell Westbrook.